Central Unified retirees, educators urge board to reject proposed health insurance hike and press for special-education supports

At the Central Unified Board of Trustees meeting on March 11, dozens of current and retired district employees used the public-comment period to urge trustees to reject a district proposal that speakers said would raise health insurance premiums for retirees and employees by roughly fivefold.

Retiree Bernice Bailey said the increase would be unaffordable for many former employees who planned their retirements around existing benefits. “I dedicated 22 years of my life to this district ... The retirees are on a fixed income,” she told trustees. Another retiree, Kathy Olsen, said the increase would be “completely devastating” and asked the board to “respect the original agreement” that had allowed retirees to maintain affordable coverage.

Current employees and union representatives also spoke. CUDA president Laura Bolton and several classroom teachers said the bargaining team has made health insurance a central issue in negotiations and warned that the proposal would create hardship for active employees and retirees. Speech-language pathologist Kayla Suda and special-education resource teacher April Cotton asked the board to consider caseload caps, more aide support and other programmatic changes to meet students’ Individualized Education Program (IEP) needs. Michael Pratt, a Teamsters representative, said his union stands with the teachers and urged the district to bargain in good faith.

Speakers described acute special-education staffing and scheduling challenges: one RSP teacher said special-day classes can span multiple grade levels in a single classroom, SLPs reported high caseloads and heavy paperwork, and several speakers described logistical complications from multiple staggered lunches, P.E. schedules and other daily events that complicate service delivery.

Board members acknowledged the comments. Trustee Sellers asked finance staff earlier in the meeting about rising special-education and transportation costs; Superintendent Davis later noted cost drivers including more students requiring one-to-one medical or instructional supports and changes to staff scheduling that converted many part-time instructional aides to full-time status.

The district did not adopt any changes to benefits at the March 11 meeting; the public-comment speakers asked trustees to press district negotiators to preserve affordable retiree coverage and to prioritize special-education resources during bargaining. The board did not take action during public comment, and trustees repeatedly reminded speakers that public comment items are not agendized for immediate board response.